The Iron Heart and the Beast
by Blazing Ace
Summary: KnB futureverse: It's on impulse that Murasakibara decided to meet Kiyoshi Teppei, the man who had made him understand the true value of Basketball… Someone, who seemed to have the power to rile him up even without having to be there for three years. So what is this clash of emotions he's feeling when they finally meet? Request from my BFF!


**Disclaimer: The 'Kuroko no Basuke' manga and anime series is owned by Tadatoshi Fujimaki and the awesome publishers and producers who made the series possible. **

**Warnings: BxB Love! (Caution: Contains spoilers from anime and manga!)**

* * *

.

.

"Kuroko-chin."

Kuroko turned around to see a towering figure hulking over him. The man was impossibly tall… definitely more than two meters, but his imposing figure was somehow placated by the large bag of childish snacks in his hands and the chocolate pocky the man was currently sucking on.

Kagami, who was eat an absurd pile of hamburgers, got up from the bleachers he had been sitting on.

"Murasakibara!" he exclaimed, not too kindly. There were bread crumbs all around his mouth. "What do you want?"

Their coach Aida Riko, squeezed her eyes shut in frustration and smacked the red-haired man across the head.

"Owww!"

"You are third years now!" she screeched. "Will you stop acting like a bunch of jumped-up brats and learn some politeness?"

As Kagami began to pacify her, Murasakibara turned back to Kuroko, who was ever stoic.

"It's strange to see you here, Murasakibara-kun." he said.

Murasakibara raised another pocky to his lips and lazily raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? This is the Interhigh preliminaries."

"Exactly." said Kuroko. "I'm sorry, but you don't seem to be the type of person who'd come all the way just to watch Shūtoku's first match, Murasakibara-kun." Something was glinting in Kuroko's blue eyes. "May I know what you are really here for?"

Murasakibara pouted. "Nothing… I came here just to see… the matches-"

Kagami's loud voice interrupted the conversation again. "What do you mean that Kiyoshi-senpai is not coming… coach?"

"He's busy, Bakagami!" Aida interrupted. "University is hard work! Besides, Hyuga-kun will make it—"

"Hard work my as— butt!" yelped Kagami as Aida tried to hit him again. "But you have to admit… that since he's in same university as Izuki-kin, Kasamatsu, that _dick_ Mibuchi Reo from Rakuzan, and that rude four-eyes from Tōō…"

"His name is Imayoshi Shoichi!"

"Yeah, whatever… coach." Kagami fumbled. "But you can't deny it! They're probably all playing basketball right now!"

"I know that! But all the same, they deserve some fun…"

Nobody, except Kuroko, noticed the way Murasakibara froze, his candy halfway to his mouth… far away from the present.

.

_The crowd was cheering like mad. Half in shock that Seirin had beat Yōsen, half in glee because Kagami was roaring like a fucking tiger at their victory._

_"Murasakibara." called a firm voice._

.

"Murasakibara-kun?" Kuroko called quietly, watching the tall man.

He didn't reply.

.

_The purple-haired boy had turned at the voice, his eyes still wide in shock… and Kiyoshi Teppei's expression had softened. "Let's play again." he had said._

_That smile… looked just like that brat Kuroko's! That was what had made Murasakibara lose it completely. "Hah?" he had practically yelled, wrenching off the rubber band off his hair. "No, I'm quitting basketball. Just because I was very into the game, I played until the end but… I was bored."_

_That wasn't true… basketball never _truly_ bored him. And today's match had made him realize just how much-_

_"…It's already a boring game. If on top of that I lose- well, there's no point… to keep going." Murasakibara didn't even know why he was explaining all this to Kiyoshi Teppei of all people._

_Just saying those words had made tears prick his eyes, and he knew that he would never be able to do what he just said… give up on the one thing that he loved. He also knew that Kiyoshi had seen the sudden redness in his eyes because he had said, "I understand… Then it's no use."_

_Murasakibara felt a tear leaking out of the corner of his eye. He turned around swiftly, but he was sure that Kiyoshi had seen, because there had been a sad smile on his face. _

_"If that's your… _truth_."_

_"We'll win next time, Atsushi!" Muro-chin had told him._

_But Kiyoshi Teppei had not been there the next year… Murasakibara thought that he has glimpsed the brown-haired man a few times, sitting in the crowd… _

_But they had never had the chance to play against him again._

.

.

"What happed to Kiyoshi Teppei?" Murasakibara asked without preamble the moment he had broken out of his thoughts.

Kagami and Aida stared at him, obviously having moved on to other topics of discussion.

"Teppei..." Aida hesitated. "He – Wait, what do you mean what happened to him?"

Murasakibara popped a haribo into his mouth. "He wasn't there last year. Why?"

"What the hell?" Kagami exploded. "Why should we tell you? And what are you trying to do, coming up to us and then suddenly asking that—"

"Kagami-kun." Kuroko said. "Please stop shouting in my ear."

Kagami reeled back, not having noticed Kuroko's head right in front of him. "Yeesh!" he yelped, before fixing Murasakibara with a firm gaze. "I'm still not buying this… I knew something was wrong the moment you pulled him up during that match and said mean things to him."

Murasakibara's eyes flashed. "I asked him if he still though basketball was fun, even after he was low on stamina, he had no more tricks and he had failed at protecting you all…"

"Bastard!" Kagami growled. Aida was trying to stop the imminent brawl.

"Guys, come on! All that was years ago…"

But Murasakibara kept on talking. "…I didn't understand how a person could be so lively emotionally when they were physically drained. Well, I was wrong of course. You guys won that match… I remember it well. It was the first time I entered 'zone'."

The silence which followed his statement was awkward. Kagami and Kuroko exchanged a look and Murasakibara felt a twitch of irritation.

"What?" he asked

Kagami shook his head. "Nothing… It's just strange hearing you accept that fact that you were wrong."

Before Murasakibara could let out an angry reply, possibly starting a brawl between him and Kagami, Kuroko spoke up.

"Murasakibara-kun, you wanted to know about Kiyoshi-senpai, right?"

.

.

"Murasakibara entered the university campus without any problem. The guards obviously mistook him for a student, or perhaps for a teacher because of his height. But Murasakibara wasn't even thinking about that. Right now, his head was full of what Kuroko had told him.

_"The surgery took a year to heal…"_

Two years ago, Kiyoshi Teppei had a knee operation.

_"One of the reasons why he had such a low stamina… his knee—"_

_Kagami had interrupted at that point. "Yeah, it was that bastard Hanamiya Makoto—"_

_"But the rehabilitation took less than a year… no wonder they call him 'Iron Heart'!"_

The sound of skidding sneakers suddenly broke through to Murasakibara. He had found the university's basketball courts.

Murasakibara's eyes widened when he noticed a lone, blond figure sitting on the nearly empty bleachers.

The man on the bleachers straightened up on his seat when Murasakibara got closer to him. "Murasakibara-cchi! What a surprise!"

"Kise-chin." Murasakibara plopped down beside his middle school team mate. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a preliminary game?"

Kise shook his head, his eyes never leaving the court. "Just won the game against Kirisaki Daīchi… So I've got nothing for the week." he let out a toneless laugh. "Man, those guys were jerks! Even now that Hanamiya's gone… I guess that's because those two fouling twins are on the team now… Remember the "Genius Brothers" we played against at Teikō?"

_"… Hanamiya Makoto…"_

"Hanamiya's a jerk, and he twins are assholes..." Murasakibara announced, munching on a piece of twix.

Kise looked up at that, a taken-aback expression on his face. "I know right! You think so too?"

"Yes."

Kise gave him a curious look. "So what made you come here Murasakibara-cchi? Do you know anyone at this university?"

"No." the lavender-haired man replied easily. "You?"

Kise glanced back to the court. "I—Well, senpai had said that they were having a practice match with a university team from Tokyo… So I came to see how they were doing."

"Senpai?" Murasakibara questioned. "Which senpai?"

Kise's golden eyes flashed back to Murasakibara. When he spoke, the adoration in his voice was only too evident. "Kasamatsu-senpai, of course."

Murasakibara was surprised. "You're still keeping in touch, Kise-chin?"

Kise scratched his neck awkwardly. "Well… I did tell him that I would come, but I don't think that he— Drats! I'm gonna be late for my _Zunon Boy _photoshoot again!" Kise jumped up, glaring at his expensive-looking wristwatch. "Guess I won't see him today either… oh well, I gotta run! See you later Murasakibara-cchi!"

And with a quick pat on the other man's back, Kise practically sprinted out through the gates nearest to the bleachers.

Murasakibara snorted, before letting his eyes finally take in the match which was taking place below. His eyes widened when he saw a figure spin around and aim a shot…

.

.

.

"I don't know what he _sees_, but you should _seize_—"

"IZUKI!"

Kiyoshi grinned despite himself as their Point Guard Izuki turned towards Imayoshi, his bangs reaching his eagle-sharp eyes, which had a look of utter innocence behind them. Imayoshi, who _had_ in fact seized the ball, shook his messy, black hair away from his eyes and squinted behind his glasses. He released a double clutch, an old specialty of his, and managed to get in a buzzer beater which ended the 3rd quarter. It was the usual.

"Basket counts!" the referee called, blowing his whistle.

Imayoshi, now a Power Forward, grinned as they walked towards their benches for the time-out. "Aiiiight!"

"Hey, Imayoshi…"snapped Reo Mibuchi, his long hair flicking away from his gentle-looking eyes, framed by outstandingly long lashes. His words, contradictory to his looks, were anything but nice. "Your stupid Kansai accent is kinda starting to bum me out again…"

"Reo!" yelled the voice of their captain and Small Forward, Kasamatsu. "Stop insulting others! Don't think that I didn't see you _almost_ forcing in that foul! I thought that I told you that if you wanted to be our Shooting Guard then you must—"

Reo, despite being 10 centimeters taller than the man shouting at him, scratched his cheek guiltily. Kiyoshi was surprised at how much he had changed over the past two years. Before, when he had been with Rakuzan, gaining 4 points per play had been his strong point… but they had usually involved benefiting from unorthodox fouls. "Yeah, I know… sorry, Captain."

"Yeah, you heard Captain, Reo-nee!" Imayoshi taunted as Reo gave him the finger.

Kasamatsu huffed before turning away. "Well its fine, Reo, as long as-"

Kiyoshi jumped in and grabbed Kasamatsu in a choke-hold and gave him a noogie. "Awww, Yukio-kun! You're a super softie on the inside! Hehe… reminds me of Hyūga! Except that Hyūga always punches me— Ouch!"

Kasamatsu had stepped on Kiyoshi's foot, _really_ hard. "Honestly, I never thought that anyone could be more annoying than that Kise! But I guess I was wrong." Kasamatsu said, massaging the top of his head.

"Hey y'all." Imayoshi called. "I dunno if you guys have noticed… but the 4th quarter's beginning."

Kiyoshi hurried to take his place as Center. As the game began, he motioned for Reo to pass him the ball. The tall man looked rather reluctant, but then passed the ball towards Kiyoshi from underneath the legs of his unsuspecting opponent. Kiyoshi took a couple steps from the three-point line, as if he was trying to get in a simple lay-up, then he shot upwards, spun around twice in midair, and dunked in the ball.

A whistle.

Kiyoshi grinned, it had taken three whole months to perfect that move… and a good thing too. Forget their opponents, even his teammates looked sufficiently stupefied.

"Was that a 720 dunk?" Reo asked, jealousy written all over his face.

"Never mind 720…" Imayoshi interjected. "Teppei, I didn't even know that you could dunk!"

Kiyoshi let out a good-natured laugh. "Come on! You guys are all coming up with NBA style moves, so why can't I?"

But that was all the time they had to chat as the opposing team set out an offensive attack.

.

.

"Thanks for the game!" they all yelled in unison as they bowed, then shook hands with the members of the guest team.

"Good job everyone!" Kasamatsu said, pulling on a black leather jacket. "Takao's probably waiting for me outside for practice, I'll head out first!" he paused for a moment. "I'm so proud of you guys." he said with a wide smile.

"Us too, Captain." said Imayoshi, before he stuck out his tongue. "We're proud of ourselves too!"

Kiyoshi turned to Izuki with a grin when Kasamatsu aimed a kick at Imayoshi. "Just like old times, isn't it, Izuki? Nobody can beat us!"

Izuki smiled back and gave him a thump on the back. "Nice going, Ditzy Boy. I especially liked that last move."

"Oh, it took me five months to get _that_ one right!" Kiyoshi said laughing.

The gym was slowly clearing out. Kiyoshi waved the others away first before heading towards the benches again. He was sure that his pack of brown-sugar candy had been lying somewhere around here… Then the lights were turned off.

Crap. Kiyoshi had known that the janitors were supposed to leave earlier today but come on! It was only… was it 9 pm already?

There was a screech of shoes moving against polished floor.

Kiyoshi flipped around and felt a shadow pass over him… A freaking tall shadow, attached at the feet to a pretty large body. A body so large that the man owning it managed to reach the no-charge zone from the center line in two long strides, and jumped, his form in a perfect arch, before slamming the ball through the hoop with solid force. The man, whose face was still in the dark, allowed his forearm to follow the ball through the hoop and hooked his elbow at the rim, hanging there for around 5 seconds, just swinging.

When he finally let go and landed steadily on his feet, Kiyoshi saw with a flutter of panic in his heart that the man had the pack of brown-sugar candy he'd been looking for, between his teeth.

Violet eyes glowed as the man walked closer to him. Kiyoshi didn't know when he had started backing away until he felt the back of his knees hit the seat of the benches and he fell down on top of them. The man didn't stop moving towards him. Only when he was a couple feet away did the tall figure bend down and unclenched his jaw, dropping the bag of candy into Kiyoshi's lap.

"I finished all my snacks." the man said. Why was that voice so familiar? "…and I got hungry, so I took some of… was that yours, Kiyoshi Teppei?"

Kiyoshi gasped. "Murasakibara?"

"Yes?" he replied, as though it had been obvious all along.

"Uh… nice dunk." said Kiyoshi, still slightly confused and searching for something to say.

"It wasn't just nice!" Murasakibara erupted suddenly. He got down on to his knees in order to be on eye-level with Teppei. He was glaring. "That was _really_ good!"

Kiyoshi blinked. He suddenly remembered how Murasakibara had gotten riled up after Kagami had goaded him at the street-basketball match long ago. Was he really _still_ so childish? "I see…" Kiyoshi said. "Well, alright then. That was a _very_ nice dunk, Murasakibara."

"You have improved." Murasakibara muttered in an accusing tone.

Kiyoshi was at a loss again. "Umm, so have you. A move like that… you would've gotten seriously hurt if you didn't know what you were doing. Anyway, I'm really glad that you're still playing!" he said sincerely.

But that was obviously not the right thing to say because Murasakibara suddenly slammed his large hand onto the seat right beside Kiyoshi, making him jump. "You shouldn't have…" he said in a low, definitely not-scary voice.

Double crap. Kiyoshi tried to find something to say. "Err… right. I mean, of course you're still playing! Why wouldn't you be? I'm stu—"

A large hand was suddenly on Kiyoshi's mouth, stopping him from talking. "I wasn't talking about that!" Murasakibara yelled, his voice echoing in the gym. "I was talking about your injury! You shouldn't have played against me when you were like that! That wasn't a fair win!"

Kiyoshi's smile fell off his face. "…Who told you about that?" he asked.

But Murasakibara was pouting. "I'm not going to tell you. You'll do something mean to that person right?"

Kiyoshi was silenced again. Since when did Murasakibara become tactful? Did that mean that he had matured a little after all?

From the sudden widening of Murasakibara's eyes, Kiyoshi realized with an internal curse that he had said those words aloud. He squeezed his eyes shut, steeling himself for the whiplash of anger which was sure to come… But it didn't, and when he opened his eyes, he found Murasakibara staring at him, his head slightly tilted to one side. There was… No! Was that a really the hint of a smile on that creepy face?

"Do you have food?" the taller man asked abruptly.

"What?" asked Kiyoshi confusedly.

"There's a Maji Burger not too far from here." Murasakibara said, raising his lengthy arm vaguely towards the gates. "Treat me to some milkshake and ice-creams."

"You know, you can't just come in here and order m—"

"Hurry up… They have a new selection of milkshakes."

His tone left no room for argument. So Kiyoshi got up and followed the man out through the gym doors.

.

.

"Err… I don't think that eating all that is actually good for your health…" Kiyoshi tried as Murasakibara licked his spoon clean of his third double chocolate sundae, dripping with caramel, malteasers and whatnot.

"I think I'm going to get another one." said Murasakibara, chewing on his plastic spoon.

"Oi!" Kiyoshi spluttered, trying to swallow his mouthful of cola instead of choking on it. "Don't forget that _I'm_ the one paying for all this—" But Murasakibara just sat there with an incomprehensive expression on his face. "Never mind… who am I kidding, what do you want to eat?"

"You."

Kiyoshi blinked. "What's that? Ahh… you want me to choose? Alright!" he said getting off the chair and heading back to the counter for the _fourth_ time.

Murasakibara stared at the dessert he brought back. "I don't like skittles in a sweet ice-cream." he said.

"Fine." Kiyoshi replied. "Then give them to me."

He watched as Murasakibara tried to fish out each little skittle like a child, trying to get all of them to fit inside the spoon. "Open up." he said once he had gathered them all up.

Kiyoshi glanced up at the spoon Murasakibara was holding up to his lips. The man had a rather cool expression on his face, as though he did this all the time. Kiyoshi guessed that denying to use the same spoon as Murasakibara, would make the situation more complicated than it needed to be, and so he opened his mouth and let his lips envelop the plastic. The sour tang of the skittles immediately filled his mouth and Kiyoshi winced at the potency of the taste.

Murasakibara proceeded to lick his spoon clear again, his eyes never leaving Kiyoshi as he gulped down cola to get rid of the horrible sourness in his mouth. The fizzy drink only managed to make it worse.

In the back of his head, Kiyoshi wondered whether or not Murasakibara realized that they had exchanged an indirect kiss…

But Murasakibara didn't say a word… He only watched Kiyoshi with those unnerving eyes and finished his dessert. When he was done, he asked Kiyoshi to buy him another one.

.

.

A few weeks later, Kiyoshi found himself in bed, groaning at Murasakibara's late night messaging. Who had known that the tall candy-freak could be _so_ chatty…

.

**From: Murasakibara**

**Received: 01:03 am**

_Come to my match 2moro._

_._

**From: Kiyoshi**

**Sent: 01:08 am**

_It's 1 AM! Go to sleep!_

_._

**From: Murasakibara**

**Received: 01:09 am**

_I can't._

_Come to the match._

_._

**From: Kiyoshi**

**Sent: 01:13 am**

_I'm busy 2moro._

_._

**From: Murasakibara**

**Received: 01:14 am**

_With what?_

_Tell me._

_._

**From: Kiyoshi**

**Sent: 01:19 am**

_…_

_… …_

_._

**From: Murasakibara**

**Received: 01:20 am**

_So are you coming?_

_._

**From: Kiyoshi**

**Sent: 01:22 am**

_FINE! Yes, alright, I'll go to your stupid match, now let me sleep in peace!_

_._

**From: Murasakibara**

**Received: 01:23 am**

_Good. You'll see 2moro that I'm the better player._

.

Kiyoshi frowned as he dropped his phone onto the bedside table. It had been two weeks now since Murasakibara had come to his university… Kiyoshi hadn't seen the man since.

Not once had Murasakibara asked for a rematch to settle their score from three years ago. But he kept telling Kiyoshi by text that he would somehow prove that he was the better player. Kiyoshi had no idea why Murasakibara wouldn't just ask for a one-on-one or something. It wasn't like Kiyoshi was defected or anything. It would be much easier to settle the whole thing that way.

But Murasakibara _had_ proven to be a rather… dare he say it— nice person. When he wasn't guzzling down chocolate, or being a total brat, Murasakibara talked to Kiyoshi about wanting to become a pastry chef.

Yeah… a _pastry chef_.

Kiyoshi definitely thought that it was something to be expected. When Murasakibara and he had gone to Maji Burger, the purple-haired man had drunk five milkshakes (that's more than Kuroko drank in a week) and eaten seven sundaes! Kiyoshi had merely burst out laughing at imagining the stoic, expressionless man in a chef's hat, but he had eventually given Murasakibara references to a cuisine school where Mitobe was currently studying.

Kiyoshi had no idea how Murasakibara managed to stay so thin after consuming so many sweets.

With weird thoughts of Murasakibara eating different types of candy… Not perverted thoughts of course! But just _weird_ ones… Kiyoshi was lulled into a comfortable sleep…

The next morning, he woke up late.

.

.

"Atsushi! Is there some reason why you're _not_ moving at all?"

Murasakibara lazily opened an eye from his position on the benches and found Himuro glaring at him. For some reason, his thoughts went back to three years before, when Himuro's guilt-tripping tactics into getting him to play had been more effective… But a lot had changed since then.

"We're going to lose." Murasakibara muttered. "It's the fourth quarter and we're behind by 20 points."

Himuro looked enraged. "Don't give me that! You know that we can still win if you go out there and actually _do_ something-"

Murasakibara flicked an annoyed glance at him. "Don't blame me for everything! Coach took me out in the middle of the 1nd quarter. It's not my fault that you guys aren't good enough to deal with Fukuda Sōgō High by yourselves."

"What do you expect? That new American kid is taller than you… and on top of that he's got moves like Michael Jordan!"

"So you're basically saying that height is all we need in basketball?"

That was a stupid argument. Even Murasakibara knew that, and as Himuro stalked away from where he was practically sleeping on the benches, the tall man actually felt a twinge of guilt.

"… late, Teppei!" came a girl's carrying voice.

Murasakibara's eyes flew open, and he jumped up. Of course! On the court beside theirs, Seirin was playing against some other team. So they were seated on the benches across from him. Murasakibara saw Kiyoshi, who was now taller than Kagami, reaching up to ruffle the man's hair.

"Riko, it'll be fine." Kiyoshi was saying in a placating manner. "Trust me, Kagami will manage it… Am I right, Tiger?"

"Yes, senpai!" Kagami replied with a brilliant grin, bumping fists with Kiyoshi.

Then, Kiyoshi's eyes suddenly went from Kagami, to their Coach, and then past her looking straight at Murasakibara, who was in his line of vision. Kiyoshi gave him a hesitant smile, then mimed sleeping before mouthing a 'sorry'.

Murasakibara merely gave him a curt nod, but inside his heart was pounding. _Now_… He would show Kiyoshi who was the best at basketball!

"Coach. Put me in." he said, approaching Masako Araki as she stressed over the game.

"Not now, Murasakibara. This is a serious situat—"

Murasakibara grabbed the Coach's wrist, making her look up at him, surprised. "If you let me in now…" he said, in a voice she had never heard him use before. "…then I promise you that we will win."

.

.

Kiyoshi was sitting on the benches with the rest of the team, cheering on for Seirin. It was just like old times! Then suddenly from the court behind them, there was a collective gasp from the audience, Kiyoshi turned around, and the sight he saw make his eyes go large.

Murasakibara was going one-on-one against a blond student from the opposing team, who was actually taller than him. But the reason why Kiyoshi was sitting there gaping was because it was impossible for him (or for anyone in the crowd he was sure) to follow Murasakibara's actions. The man was lunging, then faking, then doing a crossover, then a turnabout… and suddenly, out of nowhere, came an impossible dunk: Murasakibara passed the ball under his legs as he jumped, and then brought the ball back up again with his other hand in a windmill motion, before smashing it through the hoop.

Kuroko, who was also obviously watching Yōsen's match, nodded. "That was actually a professional move. I think, it is something that even Kise-kun would have problems copying."

Kiyoshi agreed completely. Murasakibara however, didn't even look perturbed as he landed on his feet, as though the shot had been as easy as walking. "But how was he able to do that so easily? Is he in 'zone'?" he asked.

"I don't think so." Kuroko said. "I just think that he's been practicing. Seirin will have to be more careful this year."

As Murasakibara came down from another crazy move which left the crowds cheering wildly, Kiyoshi felt himself gulp unconsciously… Murasakibara was a total beast!

And every time the beast made its move, Kiyoshi felt his piercing gaze on him.

.

.

Thump, thump, thump.

As Kiyoshi dribbled the ball across the outdoor court, his thoughts went back (once again) to Murasakibara. What was the kid playing at?

After the impossible, last-minute win Yōsen had managed to acquire, Himuro had walked up to the Seirin benches and thanked them (very reluctantly) for 'whoever had got Atsushi to get into action again'.

And for some reason, Kiyoshi had felt himself blush at that. Kuroko had given him a stranger look when Himuro had left.

Kiyoshi knew that it had obviously been because of him… Even though he had no idea why. From the corner of his eye, Kiyoshi had seen Murasakibara jump up when he had caught sight of him.

And after having seen those moves… Well, let's just say the Kiyoshi knew that he hadn't been the only one training during the vacation.

Losing his concentration for the umpteenth time, Kiyoshi huffed as the basketball hit the rim and bounced right back to his hands.

Hand which, not a moment later, were then covered by even larger ones.

"You're trying to copy my under the leg dunk!" It was a voice that Kiyoshi hadn't heard since their farewell two weeks ago at Maji Burger. But he couldn't turn around, because Murasakibara's chest was now touching his back. Moving right now would be very awkward. "You can't just get it like that you know… You have to perfect the windmill and the double pump dunks before you can get this right."

"I knew that." said Kiyoshi, fidgeting slightly in Murasakibara's arms. The last, and only time they had touched, had been when the violet-head had pulled Kiyoshi up during their high-school match.

To make it worse, Murasakibara seemed to be completely oblivious to Kiyoshi's discomfort and he bent down to rest his chin on Kiyoshi's shoulder. "Ahh, this is bad…" he said, taking a deep breath.

"What?" Kiyoshi asked, trying not to panick. It was just that, Kiyoshi was a pretty well-built guy… he rarely met people who were bigger than him (unless you count the basketball players). The only taller friends he had were Kagami and Reo… and now, perhaps… Could Murasakibara be qualified as a 'friend'? In any case, the purple-head's presence made him feel… shifty.

But the ginormous man still hadn't moved. His warm, calloused hands were enveloping Kiyoshi's like a cocoon. "Didn't you ever wonder why I've not asked you to play with me?" Murasakibara finally asked.

Kiyoshi wondered whether he should move away and turn around before answering… but then decided otherwise when Murasakibara didn't seem to be letting go. "Of course I did. I still keep wonderi—"

"It's because every time I see you, the need to crush you just fires up inside me."

And suddenly, the arms around Kiyoshi were in a vice-like grip, making it hard for him to breathe—before they were gone completely. Murasakibara was holding up his large hands as a sign of peace.

"I just want to know—no… to _understand_ why you still kept playing back then. Despite your injury."

Kiyoshi simply let out a sigh. He wanted to know… Well, Kiyoshi would love to explain it, but how do you explain the deep emotions to the man with the maturity of a five year-old? "Imagine a candy." Kiyoshi tried. "…or something which you really like."

Murasakibara raised an eyebrow. "Okay…"

"Now imagine that the candy is sitting on the table in front of you, waiting for you to eat it… and then someone comes and tell you that you can't eat it, that you have to wait two years before you can ever taste sweets again." Kiyoshi gave Murasakibara a small smile. "Tell me, what would you have done."

For some reason, when Murasakibara spoke, his voice was hoarser than before. "I would… I would taste the sweet, no matter what."

"Well there you go!" said Kiyoshi. "Basketball is the sweet for me! Now you know how I felt—"

The basketball fell to the concrete floor with a metallic thunk. Kiyoshi had let it go… because Murasakibara's arms were suddenly around him.

"Umm…" Kiyoshi tried to move his hand, but they are stuck between their chests. Kiyoshi could feel Murasakibara's heart beating abnormally fast. "Oh my god, are you alright?" he asked, worried. "Murasakibara, your heart's pounding like crazy! I think that you should sit down while I get—"

But Kiyoshi was interrupted when Murasakibara turned his head so that his face was buried into Kiyoshi's neck. "I'll be fine. Just shut up."

What did that _mean_?

"Brat…" Kiyoshi didn't even get what the problem was… Perhaps the kid was having some kind of a crisis, or a seizure? So, Kiyoshi raised his hands to pat the man's long, violet hair. He felt a frisson go down his back when Murasakibara breathed something against his throat, his lips brushing the skin there. "What?"

"I said that you're hand's really big." he said, louder.

Kiyoshi grinned. "Yours are bigger." he replied.

Murasakibara peeled himself off Kiyoshi with an unreadable look on his face. "Let's play basketball." he said.

In one fluid motion, Murasakibara picked up the ball from the ground and the next second, he was already three steps away, dribbling the ball. Kiyoshi felt a laugh erupt from him as he put himself into motion, following the other man.

The next thirty minutes were all heat, sweat and growls. Murasakibara was shooting like crazy, not missing a single one… and Kiyoshi was getting every point back, pushing himself until he was panting for breath. Fouls were obviously allowed, since Murasakibara didn't hesitate in pulling at Kiyoshi's T-shirt multiple times. He even tried biting Kiyoshi's arm at one point, his smile all teeth when Kiyoshi yelped and managed to dodge him.

Finally, when the sun had set far beneath the horizon, Kiyoshi asked for his ball back… while Murasakibara did all he could to get it away.

"Come on!" Kiyoshi tried, jumping to reach for the ball which Murasakibara was holding out of reach, behind his back. Kiyoshi was flushed red… this was more tiring than actual basketball. "I need to get back to Seirin in time."

Murasakibara froze in his movements. "Seirin… Why?"

Kiyoshi tried to reach for the ball again, but Murasakibara lazily swept sideways. "Because Kagami promised to show me how to do an airwalk if I showed him how to do his 720 dunk right!"

Murasakibara was giving him a calculating look. "It's 8:30. The school's closed."

Kiyoshi shrugged. "Kagami said that he'd be staying back for practice… which is why I need the ball back!" Kiyoshi lunged at Murasakibara, who was clearly not on his guard, and crashed into him. However, both of them lost their balance and went tumbling to the hard ground. Kiyoshi pulled his face off Murasakibara's chest and found himself straddling the other man's hips. "I'm sorry! Are you hurt."

Murasakibara was looked up at him from his sprawled position on the floor. He shook his head.

"Good." said Kiyoshi, relieved. The wind was getting colder now that the sun had said, and under Murasakibara's unflinching gaze, Kiyoshi shivered as he felt goosebumps appear on his arms.

Strong hands were suddenly on his hips, and Kiyoshi felt himself being lifted to his feet as Murasakibara jumped up. "I'll walk you there."

"Where?" Kiyoshi asked, his fingers tracing the place where Murasakibara had gripped him hard enough to leave marks.

"To Seirin."

.

.

"Damn it!" Kagami cursed as he slipped again after landing. "I told you, Kiyoshi-senpai! I can't get this right unless I'm in 'zone'."

Kiyoshi shook his head. "It'll come… you just need to practice more. You almost got that last one."

Kiyoshi dribbled his own ball and did another flawless 720. Kagami tsked. "We should start packing. Or else the guards at the gate will get pissed again."

Kiyoshi agreed and they headed to the locker room to change.

"Kiyoshi-senpai." Kagami began hesitantly as he tied his shoelaces. "I was wondering… why was Murasakibara with you when you got here?"

Kiyoshi blinked. "Oh. We were playing basketball before… and he said that he wanted to walk me here so…"

"Just to walk you here, Kiyoshi-senpai? Doesn't that seem a bit suspicious?"

Kiyoshi chuckled. "Don't be silly, Kagami… Why else would he come here?"

"I know why he was here." Kagami growled. "He wants to steal Seirin's moves! Yeah… that's why!"

Kiyoshi burst out laughing. After a while, Kagami joined in too, and the locker room was full of chortling noises.

"Oh, that was funny…" Kiyoshi said, letting out a long sigh when they finally stopped laughing. When Kagami had said that, Kiyoshi had felt really… sad. Was it true? Was Murasakibara's friendship all a scam? Just so that he could get basketball tactics? Kiyoshi slapped himself internally … Nobody _does_ that in real life! Why was he even thinking like that!

"Senpai?" said Kagami. "What are those?" he asked, pointing at Kiyoshi's midriff.

Kiyoshi flushed when he saw that Murasakibara's grasp on his waist from before had bruised. There were unmistakable bluish markings of finger coiling around his hips. Kiyoshi cleared his throat, feeling a slight blush rise on his cheeks. "Ahh… well, that was… I got hurt, while playing basketball-"

"Kiyoshi-senpai," said Kagami in a dangerous voice. "Did someone do this… I mean, is that the reason why Murasakibara was accompanying you? To make sure that you were safe-"

"No! No, no, no, it was nothing like _that_!" Kiyoshi said, his eyes widening when he understood what Kagami was implying. "Even if it was, you should know that I can take care of myself!" he said, flushing.

"Oh. Right." said Kagami, looking equally embarrassed.

Kiyoshi sighed, putting on a clean shirt. "Kagami… can I ask you something personal?"

Kagami looked up and nodded.

Kiyoshi swallowed. "Have you… have you ever felt something _strange_ towards your enemy, or rival? Someone like Aomine or Midorima… A person who infuriates you, who will never bring out your best side when you're around them? But then one day, this person does something crazy… and you think that 'hey! this kid is actually cute!'. And before you know it, you want to meet up with this person, just to get into argument or talk about things in general… or play basketball together…"

Kiyoshi looked up at Kagami, who did a double take when he saw that Kiyoshi's cheeks were pink. "What are you getting at, Kiyoshi-senpai?" Kagami asked confusedly.

Kiyoshi shook his head morosely. "I think that I'm falling for a hopeless, horrible beast!" he cried.

Kagami watched him warily and offered a few soothing touches on his back.

That night, while walking towards Kagami's place where he was sleeping over, Kiyoshi was enlightened on many things… and questioned as well.

"Does this rival ever show that he—or she—"

"It's a he." Kiyoshi mumbled, avoiding Kagami's eyes.

"Oh. Right. So… did he ever show you that he might be… interested?"

Kiyoshi snorted. "I don't think he even knows what 'interested' means…"

Kagami chuckled. "That bad, huh? So… when did you find out that you like him, Kiyoshi-senpai?"

"Hmmm? Oh, about half an hour ago…" replied Kiyoshi, not thinking.

Kagami's eyes widened. "That would be around the time when… we were changing in the lockers?"

"Yes! Why?" But when he looked at Kagami's surprised gaze, he realized his mistake.

"I see." was all Kagami said. "Err, well… He's okay, I guess… a bit tall…"

Kiyoshi froze as Kagami scratched his head thoughtfully, very red in the face. Kiyoshi shook his head and put an arm around Kagami's neck, giving him a weak smile. "Hey, let's not make the situation too awkward between us, okay Tiger?"

Kagami tuned to him and shook his head. "It's not that! I just never expected it to be… Murasakibara!"

Kiyoshi looked towards Kagami pleadingly. "Hey! Don't yell it so loud."

But Kagami was not looking at him, he was looking at the tall figure who was leaning against Kagami's apartment complex, which they had reached. As they watched, Murasakibara pushed himself off the side of the building and turn away with a disgusted sneer on his face, vanishing into the crowd.

.

.

Anybody could tell that Murasakibara was sulking… or in a bad mood… or seriously pissed off at someone. Getting the rebound one of the opponents had tried to shoot, Murasakibara weaved across the court, dodging all the other players to reach the other side, before he dunked the ball in with enough force to smash the back-board… for the third time.

The crowd went wild but the referees were whispering among each other… Breaking the post wasn't a foul, it wasn't like Murasakibara was inflicting violence against the other team… But Murasakibara saw his Coach facepalm as he tied his hair into a ponytail.

_"Announcement: The game between Yōsen High and Shinkyō High will have to be postponed due to technical issues. The match will recommence once repairs are finalized on court C."_

Murasakibara heard Himuro heave a sigh. "Well, that will take at least a day… I guess we have no more matches for today."

Murasakibara grunted and walked out through the gates of the stadium, feeling hundreds of eyes following him. As he reached the balcony, Murasakibara leaned against it and inhaled a deep breath. He took a lollipop out of his uniform pocket, unwrapped it, and plopped the round sweet into his mouth.

Something wet nudged his shin and Murasakibara looked down to see a well groomed Siberian husky, almost as tall as his knees, looking up at him with oval, aqua eyes. The dog had shiny black fur, but its stomach and legs were white. Its eyes reminded Murasakibara eerily of someone he knew quite well. He didn't need to check the dog's collar because it was wearing a Seirin jersey, with the number 16 on it.

"Number 2, there you are! Don't annoy anyon-"

Murasakibara froze, as did Kiyoshi when he saw who Seirin's team pet was standing beside. The husky let out a joyful bark when he noticed the figure who had accompanied Kiyoshi to 'search' for it, and ran past Kiyoshi to reach Kagami, who was already yelling and sprinting away from it.

Murasakibara and Kiyoshi watched each other for a while, before Kiyoshi's wrenched his eyes away and moved to follow Kagami and Tetsuya # 2, before a voice stopped him.

"Aren't you even going to say hi, Kiyoshi Teppei?"

Kiyoshi bit his lip and turned back. "You didn't say 'hi' the last time you saw me." he said curtly.

Murasakibara's eyes narrowed. "That's because Kagami was with you. I hate him. He's a hot-head."

Kiyoshi put his fist to his forehead and sighed. "If that's your only argument… I've heard that you think I'm one too."

"That was a long time ago." Murasakibara replied. "…and I was wrong about you."

"Ah." was the only thing Kiyoshi said. When he looked up, he jumped back at the fact that Murasakibara was only a few inches away from him. Kiyoshi edged backwards until his back hit the stadium wall. Murasakibara followed him and placed his hand on the wall beside Kiyoshi's head, leaning in towards him.

His eyes looked… pained, as he stared at Kiyoshi. "If I beat Seirin this year… will you…"

"Will I…?" asked Kiyoshi confusedly.

Murasakibara grimaced. "Of course you won't… You're the loyal type…"

"I have no idea—"

"You like oranges right?"

"…What?"

"Do you like oranges?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with—"

But Kiyoshi got his answer when the taste of orange confectionery filled his mouth. He stood still for a while, then shuddered when Murasakibara pressed his body even closer to his. The wind blowing outside was pretty chilly, but Kiyoshi felt an unbearable heat burning between their bodies.

Murasakibara's lips were impossibly soft against his. Kiyoshi had thought that the man would kiss like a beast devouring its meal… if he actually _knew_ how to kiss at all. But this was… just not possible. The tongue which invaded his mouth without permission was gentle, as it moved around tentatively. The large hand caressing Kiyoshi's cheekbone was careful on his heated skin… But Kiyoshi couldn't take it anymore. He clutched onto Murasakibara's jersey and pulled the man close to him, responding back with a fervor he didn't know he possessed. His hands were felt down Murasakibara's chest, feeling the abdominal muscles quiver where his fingers touched… and suddenly Murasakibara's hands were gripping him tight, one placed on his hip, and the other in his hair as the flow of the kiss changed completely.

Then abrupty, there was nothing at all. When Kiyoshi opened his eyes, he found Murasakibara looking at him with a startled expression on his face. "You… you kissed me back."

"Yes… you didn't expect me to just stand there receiving it all, did you?"

Murasakibara's eyes widened. "So… you mean there's a chance? But, you wouldn't do something like this… you're Kiyoshi Teppei!"

Kiyoshi frowned. "Yes, thank you. I know who I am."

"No." said Murasakibara, his large hand cradling Kiyoshi's face. "Do you want to keep this a secret? Is that it? I'll be your dirty little secret?" his voice sounded bitter.

Kiyoshi felt his patience starting to leave him and he pulled away from Murasakibara's grasp. "Okay, that's it! Are you going to explain _properly_ what the heck is going on, or not?"

Right there in the open balcony, where anybody could walk in at any moment, Murasakibara took of his jersey to reveal the tent in his shorts. "Is that enough explanation for you?" he asked.

Kiyoshi stared for a while, then simply gaped. "I—What—Wait a minute, put your shirt back on! You'll get sick. Can't you feel the cold breeze?"

Murasakibara merely chuckled softly and took hold of Kiyoshi's hand, and placed it on his toned chest. It was searing with heat. "You're a really good person you know." he said. "Which is why I keep thinking that this isn't really happening… that this is a dream."

Kiyoshi wanted to slap himself, what was the boy going on about? He understood the fact that they had just made out, and that Murasakibara had a hard-on…

What the _heck_?

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* * *

**AN/: I started liking these two after I read the manga... very closely!**

**PLZ READ AND review!**

**Pointing out any grammatical mistakes would be very kind!**


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